Monday, 31 March 2014

Fracking is a little difficult for me
to explain so I have taken a quote from www.what-is-fracking.com :

“Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is
the process of extracting natural gas from shale rock layers deep within the earth.
Fracking makes it possible to produce natural gas extraction in shale plays
that were once unreachable with conventional technologies. Recent advancements
in drilling technology have led to new man-made hydraulic fractures in shale
plays that were once not available for exploration. In fact, three dimensional
imaging helps scientists determine the precise locations for drilling.

Horizontal drilling (along with
traditional vertical drilling) allows for the injection of highly pressurized fracking
fluids into the shale area. This creates new channels within the rock from
which natural gas is extracted at higher than traditional rates. This drilling
process can take up to a month, while the drilling teams delve more than a mile
into the Earth’s surface. After which, the well is cased with cement to ensure
groundwater protection, and the shale is hydraulically fractured with water and
other fracking fluids.”

This website is a pro-fracking site so
I encourage you to read it for more information on this difficult topic. But I
decided to make this an important Flower because plans are underway to introduce
fracking into the California area and many people are rather unhappy about
that, because it is where a lot of food is grown, and there are major concerns
from growers that the groundwater could be polluted by the practice of fracking,
threatening their livelihoods and food production. Furthermore, one side effect
from the practice of fracking has been proven to cause earthquakes both
directly and indirectly so I would have thought the San Andreas Fault line
would be the last place you’d want to tempt fate.

The list of damaging effects on the
environment include: health and safety concerns; use of undisclosed chemicals;
leaking wells; air pollution; water contamination and water use.

Further websites that offer a lot of
information, against fracking, are at:

Friday, 28 March 2014

When choosing your diamond engagement
ring the last thing on your mind is “where did this come from?” Sadly there are
many people in developing countries who are being exploited in order to mine
diamonds for us to wear. They are paid minimal wages, sometimes not enough to
feed their family, and work in unsafe and appalling conditions. This isn’t the
picture we want in our head when buying our gorgeous new piece of jewellery.

We can make the choice to buy only
ethically sourced diamonds to ensure those who have worked hard to mine them
have been dealt with fairly and work in safe conditions. Ask the jeweller for
certification and if they cannot provide it, go to a different jeweller. Unfortunately,
there are people who are low enough to sell unethical diamonds because they can
buy them at a much cheaper price from the undesirables who own and manage mines
where the workers and the environment are of little or no concern. These same
people may even stoop to telling you their diamonds are ethical, but be
diligent when shopping and purchase from well respected jewellers. Here in
Australia our Argyle diamond mine produces beautiful stones whilst providing
good working conditions for the miners and considering the environment. Canada
also has an ethical mine and my research has discovered Namibia and Botswana
have small-scale mines we should support.

Only by refusing to buy the stones
mined unethically can we force the dark side of this industry into doing the
right thing – looking after their people and the planet.

Thursday, 27 March 2014

Apart from the fact that there are
probably enough buttons already in the world, enough to last our needs well
into the future, if you have to buy new buttons or buckles, consider buying
ones made from coconut shell. This is a renewable resource, as well as being a
product with several uses, such as: coconut milk; desiccated coconut; livestock
feed; the coir is used to make ropes, mats, brushes and potting compost; coconut
oil; and of course buttons. The rest of the tree is able to be used in many
ways as well, but for now I’ll concentrate on the coconut shell. It is made
into buttons fairly easily, with no chemicals being used in the process, which
consists of boiling, scraping to clean, cutting and drying. The varnishes may
not be entirely environmentally friendly, but at least when you’ve finished
using a coconut button or it gets lost somehow, it will eventually biodegrade.

Wednesday, 26 March 2014

If you cannot ride a bicycle, walk or
car-pool to get to your destination, an electric bike gives you another option
for helping the planet. It takes most of the hard work out of riding an
ordinary push bike while still allowing the breeze to brighten your cheeks
while you travel. You can either purchase a conversion kit to install on your
current bicycle or buy an electric bike already fitted out. Either way, you
will be making a further contribution to the benefit of the planet.

By using
your bicycle in a conventional manner you can still improve fitness by
pedalling as long and hard as you choose. When you get tired, or have a massive
hill ahead of you, simply switch over to your electric power and breeze along
with ease. You will save time by not having to wait for public transport, it
will be convenient to hop on any time you need it and can even carry home a couple
of bags of groceries. Instead of using the car to pop to the shops for a few
things, take the electric bike. It will be easier to park as well. Riding an
electric bike produces far less pollution than a car, uses fewer natural
resources and has less of an impact on the planet. It could be a valuable
investment, so consider an electric bike as a transportation option.

Tuesday, 25 March 2014

Sharing tools is a terrific way to
avoid the financial outlay for something you may seldom use if you are able to
borrow it from a friend or family member, but the gift of sharing with others
what you already own is best offered first before expecting people to lend you
their tools. Trust and respect are important for this Flower to work properly.
Trust that others will look after your tools when they borrow them. Respect the
tools you borrow from others and ensure you return them promptly and in better
condition than you received them. This will ensure you can borrow them again in
the future.

So why am I suggesting that people
share tools and how does it benefit the planet? The act of sharing is, in
itself, a noble and good thing to do. It improves human relations, teaches
kindness and thoughtfulness, respect and consideration – it gives and it
receives. Furthermore, utilising one resource among several or many helps
reduce the amount of natural resources being used to manufacture tools. It
does, however, rely heavily on respect – looking after the tool/s better than
if they were your own, being mindful of returning them in a timely fashion,
being grateful for the favour, and giving in one’s turn.

Monday, 24 March 2014

Here’s another Flower for the
Plastic-Free Life people, and for everyone else as well. So many garden tools
are now made of plastic or have plastic components, which do have a limited
life and are usually unable to be repaired when broken. Buying metal or wooden
tools, particularly choosing quality tools, will ultimately save you money.
Metal and wooden tools last much longer and if they are damaged or broken are
generally able to be repaired.

All tools will last a long time if they
are correctly used and well maintained. If they ever do come to the end of
their use, the metal can be recycled and the wood will decompose back into the
earth. These are much better options for the health of our planet.

Sunday, 23 March 2014

In a nutshell, a rainwater sensor is a
device that is connected to an automatic irrigation system, which is activated
by rainfall. Once rain is detected it will shut off the irrigation system,
hence saving water. They can be used in a domestic situation as well as
commercial. At home you can use one with your lawn and/or garden bed irrigation
systems to conserve water every time it rains. It will prevent overwatering of
plants and lawn, which can cause the soil to lose nutrients and force the use
of fertilisers to compensate (although by now we know to use natural
fertilisers, don’t we?).

I have seen public areas – lovely big
expanses of grass – being watered by giant sprinklers while it is actually
raining. Therefore, not only domestic locations can benefit from a sensor.
Local government bodies, councils, farmers, commercial and industrial estates can all
help the planet by installing rainwater sensors. These areas are often not
closely monitored by people purposefully watching out for when it rains so they
can rush out and turn off the sprinklers or irrigation systems. But they can
solve the problem with a rainwater sensor.

Using a rainwater sensor saves water,
which means we use less of our transported natural resource, thereby saving
energy and money, and helping the planet.

Saturday, 22 March 2014

Have you ever thought of cultivating
your own seeds in the garden? If you grow your own fruit and veges this would
be a valuable extension to the wonderful work you’re already doing by growing
good, healthy, organic foods. Mother Nature sorted out all the science a very
long time ago. All you have to do is follow through by gathering seeds from
your existing crops and nurturing them into the next generation of plants. It
may take some practice, maybe a few failures at first, but with persistence
you’re bound to achieve success. This way you continue to feed yourself and
your family delicious organic fruits and vegetables, contribute to good health,
save money and help look after the planet.

Friday, 21 March 2014

Heritage seeds, or heirloom seeds, are
the seeds of plants that have not been genetically modified or engineered in
any way. They’ve been passed down through generations of farmers and gardeners
who have preserved these seeds for the future.

Multinational companies have been
interfering with plant production for generations now, selling farmers and home
growers seeds which will only grow one crop. Any seeds gathered from these
first generation crops will not produce another crop, hence the farmers must
return to the multinationals to buy more seed. The multinationals are less
interested in food production than they are in gross profits – and power.

We, the people, do have the power to stop this. We can return to Mother Earth and
grow plants and crops from heirloom/heritage seeds that are designed by nature
to continue the healthy circle of life. Here in Australia we have The Diggers
Club which has been working tirelessly for over twenty years to ensure heirloom
seeds never disappear. Support healthy living by sowing heritage seeds.

Thursday, 20 March 2014

The plant nursery trade is responsible
for the production and waste of millions and millions of plastic pots that are,
more often than not, single use plastic which is dumped into landfill.
Unfortunately the fact that these pots are cheap to produce, easy to transport,
and have allowed the industry to grow into industrial scale production of
plants everywhere, has created a waste issue that is being overlooked and
under-addressed.

Before the invention of plastic pots,
nurseries were exactly what the name implies – they were places where plants
were grown in the ground. Customers would make their purchases, which were then
carefully dug from the ground with as much root ball as possible, then wrapped
in hessian for transporting home where the plant would be replanted into the
customer’s garden. Other methods were to sell plants bare rooted or in
terracotta pots.

The nursery industry has made some
minor attempts at addressing the problem of plastic pot waste, including schemes
whereby the customer may return the pot to the nursery for recycling. A major
hardware retailer in Australia used to collect plastic plant pots for reuse and
recycling but sadly they don’t do this anymore. So I checked vigorously for a
nursery in my area that would take back the plastic pots and found not one. I
did find a nursery in Sydney but the 885 kilometre drive sort of put me off. I
also found good lists of places in the United States and Canada where pots can be
recycled, which is a huge tick for those countries’ initiative at addressing
this problem.

Australia needs to pick up its game.
When buying plants from your local nursery, ask them if they recycle their
pots, and if not, suggest they do and encourage them to take up the challenge,
or shop at a nursery which will.

Wednesday, 19 March 2014

The use of products with antibacterial and
antimicrobial agents is resulting in more microbes being exposed to and
therefore developing resistance to these agents. Bacteria is capable of
evolving and becoming more virulent than ever before. Somehow we’ve become
afraid of bacteria, thinking that all bacteria are detrimental to good health,
but this is not the case. A lot of bacteria are very good for us, in fact, they
help our immunity and keep us healthy. By using antibacterial products, good
bacteria are eliminated along with the bad and we therefore develop more
allergies as our immune systems weaken. Children, in particular, will grow up
with weaker immune systems if not permitted to encounter a vast variety of
microbes and allergens. By using antibacterial products, we weaken ourselves
and create microbes that are resistant to many antibiotics used in healthcare
today.

There is a great deal available to read
on the Internet in regards to this matter. It’s another one of those mine
fields. So many studies have been done with varying and opposing results – I
would be interested to know whofunded each study. Nonetheless, grandma
wasn’t a complete and utter twit, and in this matter she is probably right.
Good old fashioned soap will keep things clean enough, and we all need to take
on board a few microbes now and then. It makes sense from a financial
perspective to eliminate antibacterial products from your household, and errs
on the safer side of the health issue.

Tuesday, 18 March 2014

This Flower may not change the world
dramatically, but rather than use tissues all the time, carry a handkerchief
that can be washed along with your regular washing. It’s only a small thing to
do, but makes a difference to the amount of waste, use of resources and saves
money. I can certainly understand how some people are repulsed by the use of
handkerchiefs when dealing with the effects of a cold, but if it’s only to wipe
dirty hands, or dry up some tears, or deal with children’s grubby faces than
every little bit counts, and this Flower has something to contribute to the
planet.

Monday, 17 March 2014

With clothes being so inexpensive these
days it’s very easy to decide to toss away an item of clothing that may simply
need repairing. However, the actual ‘cost’ of that piece of clothing is far
greater than many people stop to consider. If it was really cheap in the first
place, it’s possible it was made with extremely cheap or even slave labour.
That bears an incredibly serious human cost.

A second cost is to the environment.
Much of our clothing is made from synthetic fibres these days, and when put
into landfill does not decompose. Wool, a natural fibre, does break down but
causes methane. Tonnes and tonnes of clothing is put into landfill each year
(one million tonnes in the UK alone – how much must it be worldwide?!). Much of
what we throw away could be repaired to continue it’s useful life. This is one
of the arts our grandparents knew but which younger people are not bothering to
continue – the ability to repair and renew. Whilst it has been very nice indeed
to see a resurgence in home sewing this past decade, possibly due to the Global
Financial Crisis, there is still the idea that patched or repaired clothing is
unacceptable. But we should consider it an opportunity for creativity, find a
fun way to make the necessary repairs and do our bit for the planet.

Sunday, 16 March 2014

Here’s a very simple, easy to do, minor
action that can help make a difference. Turn of your mouse – the computer kind
of course. Turn your mouse over and check. You’ll find an on/off button. So
many of us use a wireless mouse these days, and batteries that need replacing
now and then power them. You can almost double the life of the batteries by
turning off the mouse when you are not using it. For some this may be
overnight, for others more diligent the mouse can easily be switched off every
time you walk away from the computer. It’s a matter of habit. Ultimately,
extending battery life means reducing the number of batteries put into
landfill, where they leak dangerous toxins; or slowing down the number needing to be recycled. It also
saves you money.

Saturday, 15 March 2014

Have you been to your local library
lately? It’s a great place, not just for books but for music as well. They have
everything from children’s picture books, teen novels, adult fiction, non
fiction on any topic imaginable, large print, music CDs, sheet music,
magazines, reference material, computer access, local and family history and so
much more. And it’s free!! Everything they have at your local library is free
to look at and a lot of it can be borrowed and taken home for a while. You can
find a spot to sit and read a book for a while, catch up with the news with the
latest newspaper, take your laptop and do some research or stroll around the
shelves perusing the books available for loan. You can also obtain assistance
from your friendly librarian, who can help find what you’re looking for or put
you in the right direction.

How does this help the planet? The
library provides the means by which items can be used by multiple users. Instead
of buying magazines or newspapers you can read them at the library, saving
resources and preventing extra paper having to be recycled. Borrowing music CDs
means you’re not purchasing plastic that you may eventually put into landfill.
And you never know who you might meet – I attended a wedding last year for a
bride a groom who met at their local library. Now isn’t that sweet.

Friday, 14 March 2014

Pigs (sows) are kept in cages, called
sow stalls, that are barely the size of the animal, so they cannot even turn
around. They are then continually impregnated to bear litters until they can do
so no more, then killed. Pigs produced for meat
on a factory farm spend their whole lives indoors. Piglets are removed from
their mothers prematurely, causing stress, have their teeth clipped causing up to 15 days of extreme pain, and the males are castrated without any pain
relief. Pigs farmed in this manner can suffer depression and related illnesses
because they never see the light of day, are kept in cages with concrete floors
and only get to feel the great outdoors on the way to the slaughterhouse.

Hens kept for egg production live their entire lives in
cages approximately the size of an A4 sheet of paper. They cannot turn around
or stretch their wings. The base of the cage is tilted at an angle to make the
egg roll down to one end for collection. They never see the light of day and
are kept in an artificial light which is turned off and on in order to create a
shorter night and day, tricking the hens into laying more eggs than they
naturally would. Once they are about 21 months old and their egg production
slows, they are slaughtered. Hens are capable of living up to 10 years in
natural conditions.

Cattle spend up to a year in feedlots where they are grain
fed before being slaughtered. This means they are crowded into confined areas,
sometimes on concrete, where they remain in their own refuse until they die.

Researching for this Flower is extremely draining. I haven’t
looked at what happens to sheep, and need to ask you to research for yourself,
open your eyes to the practices out there, which are a response to the high
demands of so many people on this planet for massive amounts of meat, milk and
dairy products at the lowest prices possible. This comes at the expense of the
well-being of all the animals we eat. But we’re not prepared to pay the true
value of the food we eat – we let the animals pay the price.

Educate yourself! Start with these websites and check out
what’s happening in your own country.

Thursday, 13 March 2014

http://www.closepuppyfactories.org/
will give you an insight into the issue of puppy factories in the state of
Victoria, Australia, where the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals) is taking action to fight this disgusting practice. Female
dogs as young as six months old are forced to have litters of puppies
continually for the rest of their life, which is often shortened in a painful
way with collapsed uteruses and other medical problems. They are killed when
they are no longer able to mass-produce. There is a high mortality rate of puppies
born at these factories. The animals are not cared for in any way, never
receive veterinary attention, are never patted, never allowed to run around or
go for a walk – they are simply used as money making machines for the
disgusting humans who run these factories.

Sadly, this is occurring in our own
neighbourhoods here in Australia (but check if it’s happening in your part of
the world too if you’re not an Aussie reader) and is allowed by the local
councils. Breeders sell these puppies to pet shops, where 95% of the puppies
sold come from puppy factories. They may also be sold through websites and via
newspaper advertisements.

How can you prevent this from
happening? Write letters to your local council demanding they illegalise these
factories and prosecute the owners for animal cruelty. Sign petitions. Do NOT
buy a puppy unless you are 100% sure it has come from a reputable
seller/breeder and you know for sure it is not connected in any way to a puppy
factory. Buy your puppy from the RSPCA or your local animal welfare centre.
Spread the word – tell people about the plight of these poor dogs and get them
to help fight this outrageous practice and have these factories illegalised.

Wednesday, 12 March 2014

Allow animals to be animals – not pets, not
exploited property, not toys, not sexual aids – leave them to be wild
creatures. Our collective attitude towards the animal kingdom has reached a
questionable level. Why do some people think it’s okay to keep a panther, a
crocodile, a monkey, or an armadillo for a pet? Animals need to live in their
natural environment. Putting them into cages is inappropriate – even zoos have
recongised that cages are not conducive to the well-being of an animal. Neither
should they be taken from their natural climate and kept in opposing conditions
e.g. a polar bear in the tropics.

Dogs and cats have been domesticated pets for
years, but take a look at what the human race has done to them over the
centuries with inbreeding that has completely changed them from their original
makeup. We have cats with pushed in faces, flattened ears, spotted like
leopards or purposely bred to be miniature. We have dogs with long backs and
short legs, pushed in faces, bulging eyes, a huge range of sizes and specific
temperaments for various ‘jobs’. Humans have created this variety and given them
all different names such as Poodle, Labrador, Kelpie and Great Dane. Now
another wave of created creatures is being produced with Labradoodles,
Schnoodle and Cava-poo-chon. Often there are health issues for these poor
creatures. Where does it end?

Cats and dogs have been our companions for
millennia and will continue to be so, but let’s allow them to behave
appropriate to their species. Understand the nature of your cat or dog, that
they need exercise, fresh air, and food that closely resembles what they would
eat if they lived in the wild (not chocolate cake with cream). They are also not
toys, to be played with like they are little dolls to be dressed up, or carried
around in handbags as an accessory. They do not exist for the pleasure of the
wealthy, to buy only because they can afford it and wish to show off. Animals
should not be exploited property, used for profit by being forced into
unnatural behaviours. They should not be tortured for sexual pleasure (please
don’t ask me to go into any detail on that
point) or used as experiments in the backyard by bored teenagers.

None of
this honours the beautiful creatures with which we share this planet. Allow
them to remain in the wild where they can behave naturally and live as they
were intended to live. Respect them, give them space and learn to enjoy them as
they are, not for what they can give us, because they don’t owe us a thing.

Monday, 10 March 2014

Having suggested in Flower 143 that we
think about avoiding stapling as much as possible, when there is a need to keep
several sheets of paper together, use a staple-free stapler. It is a tool that
punches through the sheets, using a strip from the top sheet, which is pushed
through and folded around the others to keep them together. Many shops and
restaurants could use this tool, as they so often attach an eftpos receipt to a
register receipt.

Using a staple-free stapler would
create less bulk when filing in a ring binder (you know how the pages all lift
up on the top left corner when you have lots of staples and eventually the
folder doesn’t close properly). It would also prevent wasting lots of little
pieces of steel.

Sunday, 9 March 2014

I found a website that states a billion
tonnes of steel was used every year just in the manufacture of staples.
Unfortunately I cannot substantiate that figure with any other reliable source,
but even if we only used a tonne of steel every year, that’s a lot of ore out
of the ground for a tiny piece of metal simply to keep two pieces of paper
together. Think about what we’re doing when we grab the stapler and snap away
mindlessly – why are we doing this? Do we really need the two pieces of paper
to be stuck to each other? Could a paperclip be used instead? Is it to keep
things together permanently or temporarily? If permanently, then a staple is
likely the most useful method, but if it is only for a temporary reason,
reconsider the task and see if there is a different way of approaching it.

Saturday, 8 March 2014

This may not be a big issue in other
countries but in Australia we’re often behind the times, and here we still have
paper phone directories delivered automatically to every household. You can
cancel this automatic delivery by contacting the phone directory company e.g.
whitepages, yellowpages. There seem to be a number of different phone
directories printed now, all vying for our attention and advertising dollars.
If you have a computer with access to the Internet, you can find any number
there that you would previously have looked up in a phone directory.

By cancelling your phone directories to
save many resources, including trees, fuel, water, energy, transportation costs
and environmental impact. You also save from the opposite end – end of use
costs involved in recycling an old directory, which include all of the
aforementioned resources.

Beware:
the phone directory company will automatically begin delivery of hard copy
phone directories again every five years unless you opt out by phone or email.
Check out their procedures on their website, and continue the good work of
saving natural resources.

Friday, 7 March 2014

PVC is Polyvinyl Chloride, or what we
generally refer to as ‘vinyl’. It is a plastic. For those who wish to lead a
plastic free life, vinyl products will be included in that list of objects to avoid.
Mostly we think of vinyl as a type of flooring, which it is, but it is found in
so many other things too, such as those soft plastic toys made for babies and
young children.

I’ve tried to do some objective
research about PVC but it’s a minefield. As usual, you can find sites that will
tell you PVC is a dangerous, deadly substance, and you can find sites that tell
you it is perfectly safe. In 1983 there was a fire in a theatre in Turin,
Italy, in which 64 people died, most from inhalation of toxic fumes from the
plastic covers on the seats. Realising 20 years have passed since then, maybe
plastic/PVC production has improved to make it safe/r, and the website at www.pvc.org
will tell you PVC is perfectly safe. Greenpeace’s website has had it’s article
about the dangers of PVC removed, so that was interesting, and I’ve not found
any reliably ‘official’ website that condemns vinyl. BUT – the State of New
Jersey, U.S.A., Department of Human Services does state that PVC contains
phthalates and that phthalates were banned from children’s toys in 2008 and it
goes on to recommend safer alternatives for children’s school supplies (source:
http://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/opmrdd/health/pvc.htmlaccessed 5 March 2014). Why would a
government body take this step without at least a degree of concern?

What concluded me in the end to make
this Flower suggestion is the idea that it’s better to be safe than sorry. I’d
rather avoid something we’re not 100% sure about until proven otherwise. Maybe
that proof will never come, but as I’ve already suggested that using less
plastic in our lives would be a good thing for our planet, we can look at PVC
as an undesirable landfill product, made from oil which is a non-sustainable
resource, and it’s difficult to recycle, so let’s avoid it.

Thursday, 6 March 2014

Sometimes it’s necessary to keep
several pages of paper together and for this I suggest using paperclips in
preference to staples. Paper clips are reusable items, seldom cause injury, are
easily removed and do not leave holes in the paperwork. Naturally I’m assuming
you’ve already considered carefully before printing anything out anyway, and
questioned the need for a hard copy document, but until our brains are able to
realign to the idea of a paper free society, we may need to keep our paperwork
together with a reusable paperclip – and a plastic free one at that.

Wednesday, 5 March 2014

I am so proud to be Australian and take
a great deal of pleasure from the gorgeous and unusual animals we have in my
country. They are completely unique to us and for this reason it is incredibly
important that we preserve them, look after them, and ensure their survival way
into the future. Of all the countries in the world, I think Australia has the
most diverse and unique range of native fauna. We should be leaders in
demonstrating how best to care for the creatures with whom we share a nation.
Nature knows the best way for biodiversity to thrive. Nature is able to balance
flora and fauna with weather patterns, landscapes and water availability. When
we interfere with this balance we threaten the existence of species. We have a
great deal of knowledge making us capable of doing the right thing by our
fauna, and hence ourselves, yet we more often choose to do the wrong thing
because it’s easier.

Think more about the animals that
inhabit your corner of the world, and the impact you are having on them, then
see what you can do that is the ‘right’ thing by your native fauna. Every positive
action helps.

Monday, 3 March 2014

Here are three apples I put aside in a bowl in the kitchen - three months ago!! They have only recently begun to wrinkle. They were purchased from my local grocer and were grown in my own country, but I wanted to see how long they would last, to see what type of food I was eating. I should have bought an organic apple at the same time to compare the results.

Even when they were cut open they looked fine. I could probably have cut off the skin and stewed the apples, but refrained - they went into my biofermenter.

Sunday, 2 March 2014

My husband and I with our local MP at our local park, Clean Up Australia Day 2014

Fower #115 suggested to Participate in Clean Up Australia Day. That was today, 2 March 2014, and my husband and I, plus our daughter and her boyfriend, joined several others to clean up a local park. The park would be about two acres in size and we spent an hour and a half picking up lots of different things such as:

lolly (candy) wrappers, beer bottles and broken glass, pieces of plastic, lots and lots of cigarette buts, underwear, a backpack, a car tyre, a burst balloon on a string.

What struck me most was the amount of deteriorated plastic, but the issue is that it doesn't compost into the ground, it breaks into smaller and smaller parts, therefore the same total quantity is there, just in many, many pieces. It was like trying to pick up a piece of peeled paint - it fell apart in your hand, which made it difficult to collect in it's entirety. These pieces of plastic easily find their way into our water systems where they are then ingested by fish, and then we eat the fish - so it comes back to us in the end.

The amount of broken glass (smashed beer bottles) was quite astounding and very difficult to gather as a lot of it was broken into rather tiny pieces.

We also saw dumped garden waste. People who live nearby must weed their garden and take this rubbish down to the park to dump it instead of dealing with it themselves. That's rather disgusting.

I really don't know why we don't look to other countries to learn from those that do things really well. Switzerland is a magnificent country, extremely tidy without a piece of rubbish anywhere. How do they do it? Is it a conscious action on their part, or are they just better people - people with a greater respect for themselves and where they live?

I live in a beautiful country. Here in
Australia we have the most amazing native flora and fauna, and for that reason
we have really strict border protection and biosecurity. It’s important that we
preserve our native flora because it’s what sustains our native animals. Sadly
there are many introduced species that have been extremely detrimental to our
native flora: things like cane toads, rabbits, weedy cacti and blackberries. We
need to make concerted efforts to decrease the impact of these nasty introductions
for the sake of the environment, for it is our environment which sustains us. By looking after native plants, and
ensuring the land works in its natural form, we ultimately support ourselves.
This doesn’t just apply to my own wonderful country, but to every gorgeous country
on the planet – and they’re all gorgeous in their own way. So wherever you
live, look after your native flora.

Saturday, 1 March 2014

Palm oil is responsible for the near
extinction of the orangutan in Borneo as well as the Asian elephant, Sumatran
rhinoceros and tiger. This is due to rainforest habitats being burned for
clearing so that palm trees can be planted for the palm oil industry. Apart
from the CO2 emissions this burning creates, adding to global warming, there
are many species that are threatened to become extinct. Last year’s figures
indicate that in Sumatra (Indonesia) there remain only 6,300 orangutans with
1,000 being killed annually. Will it be worth it?

If we avoid products containing palm
oil the manufacturers won’t make enough money to sustain production. In
Australia about fifty percent of our packaged foods contain palm oil! It can be
found in biscuits, batters, chips, vegetable oil, cosmetics, toothpaste,
shampoo, soap, and so much more. Read the labels. Check what happens in your
own country. Don’t sacrifice animals in other countries just for your own
convenience. Fight for them.

About Me

I am a writer, emerging artist, quiltmaker and public speaker. My current art installation is a work in progress, titled "1000 Flowers for the Planet". Every day, for 1000 days, I will blog one flower with a positive suggestion for how we can improve the planet - environmental, social, moral and ethical ideas. Please join me on this journey, send me your ideas for further suggestions and feel free to comment. If everyone took up only 1% of the ideas (i.e. 10 new actions), imagine the shift in the world!!
www.margaretrowe.com.au